5.014 Kangkong & Shrimp with Fried Rice

Cycle 5 – Item 14

19 (Sun) January 2014

Kangkong & Shrimp with Fried Rice

1.5

by me

in my apartment

-Ermita, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines-

solo

Robinsons Supermarket is a grocery store. Located on the western side of Robinsons Place. As if the variety and number of restaurants in the mall weren’t enough, the bounty of products for sale in the market reinforces the fact that Manila is a melting pot of cuisines. So many different brands, so many different types, so many different species, so many different styles. Admittedly, quality and freshness are somewhat lacking. And granted, a lot of emphasis is on processed foods, as shown in the examples below. Still, the diversity will keep me busy for quite some time.

8 species of rice: japonica, jasmine, jasponica (hybrid of japonica and jasmine), glutinous, basmati, brown, black, red; 6 brands.

43 types of “fresh” sausage – many of them dyed red, for some reason.

3,000 types/brands/styles of canned meat.

My first opportunity to buy morning glory aka kangkong!

This evening marked my first experience cooking here. Also my first at-home, by-me dinner of the new year/cycle. At 18 consecutive dinners in between tonight and the last time that I made something myself, maybe the longest stretch ever. After the United States, Korea, France, and Japan, the Philippines is now the 5th country that I’ve cooked a meal from scratch.

Cooking/dining accoutrements brought from home.

4 types of key Philippine seasonings: “Liquid Seasoning” (essentially soy-flavored MSG), soy, patis (fish sauce), oyster sauce.

The meal itself was kinda blah. I started with kangkong. Not knowing how to work with it, however, I tried a simple sauté with garlic and patis (fish sauce), which is also somewhat unfamiliar to me, so the dish turned out way too salty. The sprouts, looking somewhat like sweet mung bean but tasting far more like herbaceous alfalfa, rendered the fried rice somewhat bitter. Oh well